Hey Rollingstone,
Exciting times! Congrats on moving here.
A lot of us have done a 3-4 week temporary let then found a house to rent longer-term. You should have plenty of time so explore a few suburbs when you get here to see what feels right. If you look on realestate.com you'll probably already have an idea of what sort of property you're looking for. Aussies seem more likely to drive places than walk, so suburbs can seem less lively than you'd expect, but plenty of places feel like they have a good atmosphere when you wander around. Away from the seafront, lots of places have the bonus of great parks and walks/cycle paths along the river etc.
Don't be too disappointed with the weather when you get here - it is the winter! It's gorgeous for families in the summer when parks and beaches are full of families getting together over a bbq. This time of year it's great on some days, wet on others. Kids Around Perth is a good free app to get on your phone - plenty of advice on where you can take kids, even on rainy days.
carsales.com.au is the biggest online place to look for cars, and again can help get an idea of what you're looking for before you arrive. We found low mileage, 2 year old cars being sold by main dealerships for a reasonable price through this site, and had no problems.
Dan
p.s. Put on abc kids when you get here, and you'll think you were watching ceebeebies!
p.p.s. Our 2 ½ year old has been fine. Settled okay, even handled the flight better than we expected.

Hi Jay,
We've probably been to all the same places at different times, lol.
The work life balance is amazingly better. I'm 4 months into work here and still waiting to discover it's not as good as I thought it would be, but so far it is. As a GP I have much better control of my time, have time to talk to people and do a thorough job, far less paperwork, generally nicer patients (far less demanding and less likely to complain at every little thing), and all colleagues I speak to are just happier and more helpful. I hope this is going to be your experience too. Are you going into hospital or community work?

Hey Magicians,
Congratulations on finally making it to WA and it must be a relief to be reunited with your family! I can't help with the jobs situation - my wife is busy looking for work at the moment, though struggling to get anything part time.
We live in Kalamunda (Perth Hills) about 25 mins from you, with our kids 5&3. We moved 6 months ago and are still slowly making friends. Let me know if you might be interested in meeting up - we're meeting up with another family we met through this forum in a few weeks, so you might want to join us, or you'd be welcome in the Hills sometime.

Welcome to WA Jay Cross!
You're going to love it. Waiting for registration to come through can be a pain - my 2 weeks took 6 weeks, but sit back and enjoy the break.
Just wondering where you used to work? I did GP training all over North Yorkshire, Northallerton, and locumed in Thirsk for a few months last year. We're living in Kalamunda in the Hills (not as far away as everyone thinks) with our kids 5&3.

I wouldn't completely rule out the non-bulk billing docs. Most private billing docs bulk-bill kids, the elderly, simple problems, follow-up appointments, students, contraception, the unemployed, financial hardship, mental health... And remember when you do get privately billed you can get a lot reimbursed by Medicare. Find a family doc you like and trust.

Nicole, I had to send proof that I had spent several years being educated in English to avoid taking a language test. If your degree certificate or secondary education certificates demonstrate a range of years you should be fine, otherwise you might require a letter from your uni or secondary school to say what years you were taught in English.

My situation is a bit different to most others. I'm a GP. We're partly self-employed, paid per consultation, but 1/3rd of our income goes to the practice that provides facilities etc. It wouldn't be in their interests to make me redundant since I don't cost them, unless I had performance issues - so hopefully safe there...
I've spoken to the practice who are happy to sponsor me for PR so I might as well get the ball rolling, sounds like the pro's outweigh the cons.

My family have recently moved over on a 457 visa, but just wondering if we should get employer nomination for a PR visa? Still not sure if we will stay in Australia permanently, but does appear we might save money on child care eligibility and WA school fees etc.
Anyone any experience of this who knows what might make it financially attractive, even if we decide to return to the UK in a couple of years?

Hi Claire,
Just provide what you can and cross your fingers. They later told me that I hadn't provided enough evidence of some things - like British A-level certificates and a British medical degree did not establish I had been taught in English for >2 years, and a certificate of completion of 2nd year foundation training did not establish that I had completed the first year... I had to get my school/training organisation to email them confirmation directly and they accepted this. All very frstrating. I can't remember including any documentation on procedural skills, but as a GP there's nothing too technical I rely on.
Dan

Hi Patrick,
Sorry I've not checked in here for a few days. Nutnudger and family are just on their way over - if I'd read this sooner you could have come too. I'll PM this eve and see if we can all arrange something.
Dan

Hi,
We've just moved from the UK with our two children aged 4 & 2, and we're living in Kalamunda, in the Hills. Our 4 year old especially is missing having friends his own age, and so much is now closed for the summer. We're looking to meet other parents with young children for socialising and to share ideas on what to do with the kids.